“And she’s the female equivalent of Victor in personality.”
“For Shidteus’s sake.” Lucien slumped into his chair and looked abruptly tired. “This now makes more sense. Of course those two would get along like a house on fire. How did they evenmeet?”
“I do not know and I’m dying to find out.”
I think we all shared that sentiment.
I brought up the other elephant in the room, loath as I was to do it. “I’m not imagining things, am I? Was King Patrick really going to declare James as the crown prince before Victor burst in?”
“I believe he was.” Prince Royce sighed. He was slumped sideways, head in hand, looking very done with this whole evening. “Not that anyone tells me anything.”
“He didn’t tell me either,” James muttered darkly. Lye and thumbscrews filtered through his tone. “If he had managed his announcement, I would have embarrassed him on the spot. Trying to publicly pressure me is a tactic I won’t fall for.”
“Nor should you. Although the fallout would be very ugly as well.” I didn’t like how this was something else he now had to guard against. James had only asked for two promises from his adoptive parents, and it was mind-boggling that they seemed to forget both promises on a daily basis. They apparently didn’t care about what their children wanted or how they felt, only the utility they brought.
Helena’s eyes roved over James again, and she said, with sympathy, “Why don’t you just call it a night?”
James about sank into a puddle with relief. “Can you manage, then?”
“I can, don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you so much. I’ll return the favor later. Edwin?”
I had no intention of staying if he was going to leave. Balls weren’t really my scene anyway. I’d much rather be curled up under a blanket with a good book.
“Really do not like this,” James muttered as he stalked into the hallway. “I’m of half a mind to join the conversation my so-called parents are currently having with my idiot brother.”
“No, don’t,” I advised. “You know it’s just going to be a lot of yelling, nothing productive. Wait until tomorrow when people aren’t ready to murder. Then you’ll get something sensible.”
“Ugh, you’re right, I just hate it.”
“I know. What we can do is get the spies in motion, though.”
“True. They might glean some good intel tonight.”
He’d been leading us to his rooms but at my suggestion detoured to the aviary instead. The place was filled with homing pigeons, most tucked in for the night, gently cooing from time totime. There was only one caretaker at this time of the night, and he was bored enough to be happy to have something to do.
James penned a quick message to our southern spies, then slipped it into the carrier pigeon’s holder before the caretaker sent her off with a flurry of wings. Only then did I feel at ease, knowing someone would shortly be working on the problem.
I took James’s hand back in mine as we left the aviary.
He didn’t truly relax until we were back in his—I supposeour—rooms. James immediately toed off his shoes, slipped his suit jacket off, undid his cravat, and laid everything haphazardly onto the nearest chair. Honestly, he looked more comfortable, so I did the same.
When I turned, barefoot, James flicked on a music box, and a popular love ballad I only knew half the words to started to play.
James extended a hand to me. “Dance?”
I could dance, I just rarely had the opportunity to do so. I knew James had wanted to dance all night with me, had been looking forward to it, and honestly? The chance to openly dance in his arms, to silently show everyone this man was mine—I had been very much looking forward to it as well. In fact, I felt quite robbed I hadn’t been able to dance with him. I accepted his hand and let him lead as he twirled us both into position. Tonight, though, was a slow dance with his cheek pressed against mine. I could feel the need in him to keep me close. Knew that under this calm, there was a bone-chilling worry and fear eating at him.
If I had been confronted with my monster of an ex, I wouldn’t be handling it this calmly.
Hell, I wasn’t directly in the line of fire, and I still wasn’t handling this well. I was furious at the assholes who had once again put my poor lover through the wringer, and for no other reason than because of their own selfishness. Shouldn’t greed have limits? At the very least, couldn’t their selfishness take some other form that didn’t impact James?
Angry as I was with them, my heart broke for James, who hadn’t wanted drama tonight. He’d just wanted to dance with me and even that had been taken from him.
I slid a hand to the nape of his neck and drew his head down, touching my forehead lightly to his even as our feet barely shuffled in the right patterns. I didn’t know how to verbalize all of what I felt. The love I had for him, my determination to somehow make this all right, my concern for how he would manage. It was all too much to frame in the words available to me.
Perhaps he felt it, as he pulled me in tighter, the tension slowly draining out of his shoulders.
